Butane is an unbranched alkane with four carbon atoms. It is also called n-butane. It is a gaseous component of natural gas, much like gasoline is a component of crude oil. While petroleum products like gasoline are refined, natural gas products like butane are extracted. Butane can also be produced from crude oil, but in much smaller quantities. Butane is often added to regular gasoline to boost performance without creating a highly volatile product. Other common uses for butane include refrigeration, heating and fuel for cigarette lighters.

Butane is a gaseous component of natural gas. While petroleum products like gasoline are refined, natural gas products like butane are extracted. Butane can also be produced from crude oil. Natural gas is a gaseous fossil fuel consisting primarily of methane but including significant quantities of ethane, butane, propane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and helium.

Butane isomerization is the process of converting normal butane into isobutane. Normal butane and isobutane are NGLs that are naturally produced from processing natural gas and as a byproduct from crude oil refining. The supply of normal butane generally exceeds demand, while the demand for isobutane is normally greater than the supply. The reaction mechanism for butane isomerization using platinum impregnated chlorinated alumina has three steps: removal of hydrogen from the butane, rearrangement of the molecule, and replacement of hydrogen.